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Image | David Morgan on Silver Price Manipulation, Delivery Default & Supply Shortage Risks
David Morgan on Silver Price Manipulation, Delivery Default & Supply Shortage Risks
by Adam Taggart

“I have little doubt that most of the silver that is on the SLV’s web site with a bar number is there somewhere. But what I am really concerned about is if it is hypothecated or not, meaning is there more than one owner on that same bar. And I can almost guarantee that there are multiple owners for almost every bar that they report. It does not mean that that bar does not exist.

It takes ten contracts to be a market maker.* (*See retraction and clarification in the comments below.) So I have got ten contracts, I have got fifty thousand ounces, and I ship it to my buddy who is a hedge fund manager over in Idaho. That is my silver. I have just sent it over to him on a lease. I have leased it to him. Now he has taken that silver and he has swapped it with somebody at the SLV, so they have got bars there. And he swapped for those and now those are on the exchange showing as part of the deal. So you can have a lease and a swap, so you could have two or three claims on those same bars. And that happens over and over again.

So the reason I used “purportedly” is that is the correct word. There are very few bars that are actually one-to-one correspondence that are sitting on the SLV and that is their only purpose. That is not the way banks operate. That is not the way the whole system operates. So I am not against the SLV, but I also state very clearly that if you follow what I teach, you would not want that to be considered a primary silver investment. That is a paper investment. That is not silver. That is paper. It only settles in paper. People ask whether I think there is going to be a default on the SLV. I say, how could there be? I mean, read the prospectus, they settle in cash. Think they have any trouble printing that stuff up? I haven't seen any problem with that lately.”

So cautions David Morgan, publisher of The Morgan Report on precious metals and proprietor of Silver-Investor.com. More so than perhaps any other, the silver market has been loudly and visibly accused of rampant price manipulation. And more recently, suspicion is growing that the exchanges and ETFs dedicated to trading the metal do not hold sufficient volume of it to meet their obligations. Is the silver market free and fair? Chris delves deeply into these important questions with one of the best-known silver experts.

In this interview, David explains why:

  • The silver market is definitely manipulated, though likely not as rampantly as some believe. And despite this manipulation, he believes the overall upward trend in silver (and gold) cannot be suppressed in the long run.
  • Holding physical bullion as a core part of one's precious metal portfolio is absolutely critical. Many of the bars pledged to tradable securites (ETFs, futures, etc) are assigned to multiple owners – meaning there is much less actual bullion underlying these securities than the market thinks. 
  • Why his long-term outlook for silver is so bullish. Annual industrial demand for silver continues to outstrip supply from new mining, while increasing investment demand for silver as a monetary vehicle only takes more tonnage out of the market. At some point, the market will wake up to the fact that silver is in much shorter supply than currently appreciated. At that point, the price will go much, much higher.

Click the play button below to listen to Chris' interview with David Morgan (runtime 35m:58s):

[swf file="http://media.PeakProsperity.com/audio/david-morgan-2011-07-20.mp3"]

Download/Play the Podcast
Report a Problem Playing the Podcast

Or start reading the transcript below:

David Morgan on Silver Price Manipulation, Delivery Default & Supply Shortage Risks
 by Adam Taggart

“I have little doubt that most of the silver that is on the SLV’s web site with a bar number is there somewhere. But what I am really concerned about is if it is hypothecated or not, meaning is there more than one owner on that same bar. And I can almost guarantee that there are multiple owners for almost every bar that they report. It does not mean that that bar does not exist.

It takes ten contracts to be a market maker.* (*See retraction and clarification in the comments below.) So I have got ten contracts, I have got fifty thousand ounces, and I ship it to my buddy who is a hedge fund manager over in Idaho. That is my silver. I have just sent it over to him on a lease. I have leased it to him. Now he has taken that silver and he has swapped it with somebody at the SLV, so they have got bars there. And he swapped for those and now those are on the exchange showing as part of the deal. So you can have a lease and a swap, so you could have two or three claims on those same bars. And that happens over and over again.

So the reason I used “purportedly” is that is the correct word. There are very few bars that are actually one-to-one correspondence that are sitting on the SLV and that is their only purpose. That is not the way banks operate. That is not the way the whole system operates. So I am not against the SLV, but I also state very clearly that if you follow what I teach, you would not want that to be considered a primary silver investment. That is a paper investment. That is not silver. That is paper. It only settles in paper. People ask whether I think there is going to be a default on the SLV. I say, how could there be? I mean, read the prospectus, they settle in cash. Think they have any trouble printing that stuff up? I haven't seen any problem with that lately.”

So cautions David Morgan, publisher of The Morgan Report on precious metals and proprietor of Silver-Investor.com. More so than perhaps any other, the silver market has been loudly and visibly accused of rampant price manipulation. And more recently, suspicion is growing that the exchanges and ETFs dedicated to trading the metal do not hold sufficient volume of it to meet their obligations. Is the silver market free and fair? Chris delves deeply into these important questions with one of the best-known silver experts.

In this interview, David explains why:

  • The silver market is definitely manipulated, though likely not as rampantly as some believe. And despite this manipulation, he believes the overall upward trend in silver (and gold) cannot be suppressed in the long run.
  • Holding physical bullion as a core part of one's precious metal portfolio is absolutely critical. Many of the bars pledged to tradable securites (ETFs, futures, etc) are assigned to multiple owners – meaning there is much less actual bullion underlying these securities than the market thinks. 
  • Why his long-term outlook for silver is so bullish. Annual industrial demand for silver continues to outstrip supply from new mining, while increasing investment demand for silver as a monetary vehicle only takes more tonnage out of the market. At some point, the market will wake up to the fact that silver is in much shorter supply than currently appreciated. At that point, the price will go much, much higher.

Click the play button below to listen to Chris' interview with David Morgan (runtime 35m:58s):

[swf file="http://media.PeakProsperity.com/audio/david-morgan-2011-07-20.mp3"]

Download/Play the Podcast
Report a Problem Playing the Podcast

Or start reading the transcript below:

Image | Understanding the Budget/Deficit Fiasco…
Understanding the Budget/Deficit Fiasco…
 PREVIEW
by Chris Martenson

On one hand, I am glad that Washington DC is finally (!) talking about the unsustainable borrowing and spending habits of the United States. It had to happen sooner or later; better now than never.

On the other hand, the tenor and substance of the dialog and proposals reveal just how far up the creek we really are and just how hopeless it really is to plan on something sensible emerging. After trying to make sense of the various proposals I think I can summarize them all with a single phrase: You’d better be ready. We’ll get into the ‘for what?’ down below.

The most aggressive of the proposals seeks to reduce the overall deficit by an impressive-sounding $4 trillion over the next ten years. Of course, this merely trims $400 billion each year, which only reduces the deficit to something close to a trillion dollars a year, or double what it was at the beginning of the crisis.

A trillion a year is still far too much to carry, and the message has not been lost on gold, which is now performing the Dance of the Big Round Number at the $1,600 mark.

Understanding the Budget/Deficit Fiasco…
 PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

On one hand, I am glad that Washington DC is finally (!) talking about the unsustainable borrowing and spending habits of the United States. It had to happen sooner or later; better now than never.

On the other hand, the tenor and substance of the dialog and proposals reveal just how far up the creek we really are and just how hopeless it really is to plan on something sensible emerging. After trying to make sense of the various proposals I think I can summarize them all with a single phrase: You’d better be ready. We’ll get into the ‘for what?’ down below.

The most aggressive of the proposals seeks to reduce the overall deficit by an impressive-sounding $4 trillion over the next ten years. Of course, this merely trims $400 billion each year, which only reduces the deficit to something close to a trillion dollars a year, or double what it was at the beginning of the crisis.

A trillion a year is still far too much to carry, and the message has not been lost on gold, which is now performing the Dance of the Big Round Number at the $1,600 mark.

Image | James Turk: Gold Is Our Defense Against the Fiat Currency Graveyard
James Turk: Gold Is Our Defense Against the Fiat Currency Graveyard
by Adam Taggart

“The rule of law has basically been thrown out the window. Money printing is the order of the day. And when politicians take control of central banks, which they have done in the United States and they are also doing in Europe, that basically destroys the currency. It puts the currency on the road to what I call the Fiat Currency Graveyard, so I expect there are going to be massive currency problems as we go forward. The financial crisis that we have been dealing with for the last several years has not been solved.”

So cautions James Turk, widely-respected precious metals expert and founder/chairman of GoldMoney. In this detailed interview (recorded in June), Chris and James explore the probable outcome of the current US debt-ceiling operatics, the likelihood of future Fed money printing, and strategies for preserving wealth. In short, James believes we are witnessing the decline of the world's major fiat currencies, and expects gold to be remonetized in the aftermath.

James explains why he expects:

  • The US Government to raise the debt ceiling in August, which will require the Federal Reserve to print more money in order to soak up the new debt, sending gold and silver prices much higher this summer.
  • Holders of fiat currencies to experience increasing losses in the purchasing power of their wealth; contrary to those who hold precious metals, who will see the reverse.
  • This pattern of currency devaluation to be similar to the many other examples seen throughout monetary history. In short, the “unthinkable” event of a dollar collapse is a much more probable event than most consider.
  • Precious metals to be an excellent vehicle for preserving purchasing power through this next transition, and whatever future currency emerges, their historic role as money to be restored.
  • The end of the bull market in precious metals is years away. We’ll know its ending when holders of PMs begin trading them for other assets (e.g. property, securities) that have become overly undervalued.

Click the play button below to listen to Chris' interview with James Turk (runtime 49m:11s):

[swf file="http://media.PeakProsperity.com/audio/james-turk-2011-07-12.mp3"]

Download/Play the Podcast
Report a Problem Playing the Podcast

Or start reading the transcript below:

James Turk: Gold Is Our Defense Against the Fiat Currency Graveyard
 by Adam Taggart

“The rule of law has basically been thrown out the window. Money printing is the order of the day. And when politicians take control of central banks, which they have done in the United States and they are also doing in Europe, that basically destroys the currency. It puts the currency on the road to what I call the Fiat Currency Graveyard, so I expect there are going to be massive currency problems as we go forward. The financial crisis that we have been dealing with for the last several years has not been solved.”

So cautions James Turk, widely-respected precious metals expert and founder/chairman of GoldMoney. In this detailed interview (recorded in June), Chris and James explore the probable outcome of the current US debt-ceiling operatics, the likelihood of future Fed money printing, and strategies for preserving wealth. In short, James believes we are witnessing the decline of the world's major fiat currencies, and expects gold to be remonetized in the aftermath.

James explains why he expects:

  • The US Government to raise the debt ceiling in August, which will require the Federal Reserve to print more money in order to soak up the new debt, sending gold and silver prices much higher this summer.
  • Holders of fiat currencies to experience increasing losses in the purchasing power of their wealth; contrary to those who hold precious metals, who will see the reverse.
  • This pattern of currency devaluation to be similar to the many other examples seen throughout monetary history. In short, the “unthinkable” event of a dollar collapse is a much more probable event than most consider.
  • Precious metals to be an excellent vehicle for preserving purchasing power through this next transition, and whatever future currency emerges, their historic role as money to be restored.
  • The end of the bull market in precious metals is years away. We’ll know its ending when holders of PMs begin trading them for other assets (e.g. property, securities) that have become overly undervalued.

Click the play button below to listen to Chris' interview with James Turk (runtime 49m:11s):

[swf file="http://media.PeakProsperity.com/audio/james-turk-2011-07-12.mp3"]

Download/Play the Podcast
Report a Problem Playing the Podcast

Or start reading the transcript below:

Image | No Way Out
No Way Out
 PREVIEW
by Chris Martenson

It’s time to face a few facts. The recovery, such as it is, was bought at a very high price, too high, really, and it is both false and unsustainable.

Politicians are essentially and effectively clueless at this juncture, posturing over the wrong issues and proposing the wrong sorts of responses. For example, even if one did not know anything about Peak Oil, promoting the highway bill as a legitimate means of promoting economic growth when oil is near $100 per barrel is perhaps not the best use of a couple hundred billion dollars.

Central banks are no better punishing savers and the prudent with zero and/or negative interest rates as they attempt to bail out the reckless banks and get credit flowing again like it once did.

The debt problems of the United States and Europe are almost exactly the same. Both regions drank the Greenspan Kool-Aid offered up in the 1990’s and 2000’s, and both are now saddled with too much debt and promises that are too large to keep.

Three simple words are all we need to understand the economic malaise: Too much debt.

That’s the fundamental problem here, not a failure to tax enough, or tweak a few policies, or print some more thin-air money, or even to get credit flowing again (read: growing again).

That’s the long and the short of it. Anybody with a calculator and a modicum of common sense could tell you that such a state of affairs was not sustainable, nothing can grow forever yet, and believe it or not, that was the plan.

No Way Out
 PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

It’s time to face a few facts. The recovery, such as it is, was bought at a very high price, too high, really, and it is both false and unsustainable.

Politicians are essentially and effectively clueless at this juncture, posturing over the wrong issues and proposing the wrong sorts of responses. For example, even if one did not know anything about Peak Oil, promoting the highway bill as a legitimate means of promoting economic growth when oil is near $100 per barrel is perhaps not the best use of a couple hundred billion dollars.

Central banks are no better punishing savers and the prudent with zero and/or negative interest rates as they attempt to bail out the reckless banks and get credit flowing again like it once did.

The debt problems of the United States and Europe are almost exactly the same. Both regions drank the Greenspan Kool-Aid offered up in the 1990’s and 2000’s, and both are now saddled with too much debt and promises that are too large to keep.

Three simple words are all we need to understand the economic malaise: Too much debt.

That’s the fundamental problem here, not a failure to tax enough, or tweak a few policies, or print some more thin-air money, or even to get credit flowing again (read: growing again).

That’s the long and the short of it. Anybody with a calculator and a modicum of common sense could tell you that such a state of affairs was not sustainable, nothing can grow forever yet, and believe it or not, that was the plan.

Image | Off The Cuff: Important EU Warning Signs, Post-QE2 Disappointment & Debt Ceiling Drama
Off The Cuff: Important EU Warning Signs, Post-QE2 Disappointment & Debt Ceiling Drama
 PREVIEW
by Adam Taggart

Off the Cuff with Mish & Chris resumes this week, with Mish recently returned from a trip to Europe.

In this week’s podcast, Chris and Mish tackle:

  • Europe: Sovereign bond rates are jumping, as rating agencies downgrade the PIIGS countries; bailout risk is growing, with Italy & Spain looking increasingly vulnerable. A successful ‘containment’ of the crisis appears less and less likely.
  • The end of QE2: Why those expecting a second-half economic pickup are likely to be sorely disappointed. Precious metals will react dramatically if QE3 is announced.
  • Debt ceiling dramatics: A deal is likely, but the odds of a government shutdown are higher than are being admitted. 

Off The Cuff: Important EU Warning Signs, Post-QE2 Disappointment & Debt Ceiling Drama
 PREVIEW by Adam Taggart

Off the Cuff with Mish & Chris resumes this week, with Mish recently returned from a trip to Europe.

In this week’s podcast, Chris and Mish tackle:

  • Europe: Sovereign bond rates are jumping, as rating agencies downgrade the PIIGS countries; bailout risk is growing, with Italy & Spain looking increasingly vulnerable. A successful ‘containment’ of the crisis appears less and less likely.
  • The end of QE2: Why those expecting a second-half economic pickup are likely to be sorely disappointed. Precious metals will react dramatically if QE3 is announced.
  • Debt ceiling dramatics: A deal is likely, but the odds of a government shutdown are higher than are being admitted. 

Image | Eric Sprott – Paper Markets Are a Joke: Prepare for Bullion Prices to Go Supernova
Eric Sprott – Paper Markets Are a Joke: Prepare for Bullion Prices to Go Supernova
by Adam Taggart

"I think that the prices will continue higher. I mean the amount of money printing is unbelievable. I just think you have to take that initial stand in terms of buying it. I use the James Turk analogy: just keep dollar averaging. We have gone up eleven years in a row, this year it looks like it will be no exception; I would certainly think next year will be no exception. If we ever have QE3 announced, I think gold and silver will just go absolutely bonkers here. And so I just think you have got to step in there and own it; we’ve had these fears all the way along. You know, $400, and $500 and $700 and $800 dollar gold, everyone was afraid it was a one-time thing. I don’t think it is a one-time thing, I think it is a secular thing. It’s going to carry on for quite a while here until we find some resolution of these problems. And the resolution probably will be some form of default where people just have to expunge debts that cannot be repaid. So, you have got to be in some asset which will not be affected by that."

So predicts Eric Sprott, founder of Sprott Asset Management and famed investor. In this wide-ranging interview, he shares his insights on the precious metals markets – specifically what investors need to be aware of in terms of the way the markets are currently managed (maniuplated), the macro outlook for the economy (grim) and the true value of gold and silver (very underpriced; particularly silver).  

Eric sees the current "extend and pretend" intervention by world governments and central banks to prop of a fundamentally flawed banking system, particualrly the vast money printing efforts of the past few years, as a ruse that is losing it's influence. Once enough people ask "Why have your money in a bank earning nothing? Why not have it in something that might at least maintain its purchasing power?”, the captial flows into the precious metals will dwarf current levels, sending bullion prices much higher.

Those interested in hearing Eric's insights on:

  • why we're in a global secular bear market for most assets classes
  • what the safest investment options are
  • how much precious metals exposure investors should have
  • the key factors that will drive PM prices much higher
  • the mindboggling supply shortage and manipulation within the silver market
  • why there may eventually be two prices for bullion: one for paper and (a much higher one) for physical & how high Eric thinks prices could go

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

should click the play button below to listen to Chris' interview with Eric Sprott (runtime 38m:01s):

[swf file="http://media.PeakProsperity.com/audio/eric-sprott-2011-07-05.mp3"]

Download/Play the Podcast
Report a Problem Playing the Podcast

Or start reading the transcript below:

Eric Sprott – Paper Markets Are a Joke: Prepare for Bullion Prices to Go Supernova
 by Adam Taggart

"I think that the prices will continue higher. I mean the amount of money printing is unbelievable. I just think you have to take that initial stand in terms of buying it. I use the James Turk analogy: just keep dollar averaging. We have gone up eleven years in a row, this year it looks like it will be no exception; I would certainly think next year will be no exception. If we ever have QE3 announced, I think gold and silver will just go absolutely bonkers here. And so I just think you have got to step in there and own it; we’ve had these fears all the way along. You know, $400, and $500 and $700 and $800 dollar gold, everyone was afraid it was a one-time thing. I don’t think it is a one-time thing, I think it is a secular thing. It’s going to carry on for quite a while here until we find some resolution of these problems. And the resolution probably will be some form of default where people just have to expunge debts that cannot be repaid. So, you have got to be in some asset which will not be affected by that."

So predicts Eric Sprott, founder of Sprott Asset Management and famed investor. In this wide-ranging interview, he shares his insights on the precious metals markets – specifically what investors need to be aware of in terms of the way the markets are currently managed (maniuplated), the macro outlook for the economy (grim) and the true value of gold and silver (very underpriced; particularly silver).  

Eric sees the current "extend and pretend" intervention by world governments and central banks to prop of a fundamentally flawed banking system, particualrly the vast money printing efforts of the past few years, as a ruse that is losing it's influence. Once enough people ask "Why have your money in a bank earning nothing? Why not have it in something that might at least maintain its purchasing power?”, the captial flows into the precious metals will dwarf current levels, sending bullion prices much higher.

Those interested in hearing Eric's insights on:

  • why we're in a global secular bear market for most assets classes
  • what the safest investment options are
  • how much precious metals exposure investors should have
  • the key factors that will drive PM prices much higher
  • the mindboggling supply shortage and manipulation within the silver market
  • why there may eventually be two prices for bullion: one for paper and (a much higher one) for physical & how high Eric thinks prices could go

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

should click the play button below to listen to Chris' interview with Eric Sprott (runtime 38m:01s):

[swf file="http://media.PeakProsperity.com/audio/eric-sprott-2011-07-05.mp3"]

Download/Play the Podcast
Report a Problem Playing the Podcast

Or start reading the transcript below:

Image | How to Play the Greatest Gold and Silver Bull Market of Our Lifetime
How to Play the Greatest Gold and Silver Bull Market of Our Lifetime
 PREVIEW
by Chris Martenson

How to Play the Greatest Gold and Silver Bull Market of Our Lifetime

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Executive Summary

  • The extent and impact of price manipulation on current bullion prices
  • How to build or increase your allocation to gold and silver (how much is right?)
  • The best vehicles and storage options for owning precious metals
  • Exit strategies: what indicators to watch to know when it’s time to start selling
  • How high are gold and silver prices likely to climb by the end of the current bull market?

Part I – The Screaming Fundamentals For Owning Gold and Silver

If you have not yet read Part I, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first. 

Part II – How to Play the Greatest Gold and Silver Bull Market of Our Lifetime 

Market Manipulation

This brings us to the topic of market manipulation. As many of you are aware this is a topic of exceptional controversy. On one side, we might place the Gold Anti-Trust Action (GATA) organization, alleging constant official manipulation to suppress the price of both gold and silver, and on the other we might place Jeff Christian, managing director of the metals research firm CPM, whose position is that all price movements can be explained by ordinary market forces.

I happen to be in the middle of those views. I know for a fact that the price of gold is of official interest, and that gold has been actively suppressed in price in the past in order to affect one policy aim or another. The London gold pool of 1969 is one such example, but there are others.

I reason that anything that has proven to be a useful policy tool in the past is a likely candidate to be a tool in the present. It would be up to the detractors of this view to prove, from time to time, that gold is no longer of sufficient official interest that its price is not a target of official intervention or negligent oversight.

But even if manipulation exists, there’s only so long that official intervention can hold back the tide. This puts me in the camp with Erik Sprott of Sprott Asset Management, who recently told me in an interview:

How to Play the Greatest Gold and Silver Bull Market of Our Lifetime
 PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

How to Play the Greatest Gold and Silver Bull Market of Our Lifetime

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Executive Summary

  • The extent and impact of price manipulation on current bullion prices
  • How to build or increase your allocation to gold and silver (how much is right?)
  • The best vehicles and storage options for owning precious metals
  • Exit strategies: what indicators to watch to know when it’s time to start selling
  • How high are gold and silver prices likely to climb by the end of the current bull market?

Part I – The Screaming Fundamentals For Owning Gold and Silver

If you have not yet read Part I, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first. 

Part II – How to Play the Greatest Gold and Silver Bull Market of Our Lifetime 

Market Manipulation

This brings us to the topic of market manipulation. As many of you are aware this is a topic of exceptional controversy. On one side, we might place the Gold Anti-Trust Action (GATA) organization, alleging constant official manipulation to suppress the price of both gold and silver, and on the other we might place Jeff Christian, managing director of the metals research firm CPM, whose position is that all price movements can be explained by ordinary market forces.

I happen to be in the middle of those views. I know for a fact that the price of gold is of official interest, and that gold has been actively suppressed in price in the past in order to affect one policy aim or another. The London gold pool of 1969 is one such example, but there are others.

I reason that anything that has proven to be a useful policy tool in the past is a likely candidate to be a tool in the present. It would be up to the detractors of this view to prove, from time to time, that gold is no longer of sufficient official interest that its price is not a target of official intervention or negligent oversight.

But even if manipulation exists, there’s only so long that official intervention can hold back the tide. This puts me in the camp with Erik Sprott of Sprott Asset Management, who recently told me in an interview:

Image | The Screaming Fundamentals For Owning Gold And Silver
The Screaming Fundamentals For Owning Gold And Silver
by Chris Martenson

This report lays out an investment thesis for gold and one for silver.  Various factors lead me to conclude that gold is one investment that you can park for the next ten or twenty years, confident that it will perform well. My timing and logic for both entering and finally exiting gold (and silver) as investments are laid out in the full report.

The punch line is this: Gold and silver are not (yet) in bubble territory, and large gains remain, especially if monetary, fiscal, and fundamental supply-and-demand trends remain in play.

Introduction

In 2001, as the painful end of the long stock bull market finally seeped into my consciousness, I began to grow quite concerned about my traditional stock and bond holdings. Other than a house with 27 years left on a 30 year mortgage, these holdings represented 100% of my investing portfolio. So I dug into the economic data to see what I could discover. What I found shocked me. It's all in the Crash Course in both video and book form, so I won't go into that data here.

By 2002, I had investigated enough about our monetary, economic, and political systems that I decided that holding gold and silver would be a very good idea, poured 50% of my liquid net worth into precious metals, and sat back and watched.

Since then, my appreciation for and understanding of the role of gold as a monetary asset and silver as an indispensable industrial metal have deepened considerably.

Investing in gold and silver is still a good idea. Here's why.

Why own gold and silver?

The reasons to hold gold and silver, and I mean physical gold and silver, are pretty straightforward. So let’s begin with the primary reasons to own gold.

 

The Screaming Fundamentals For Owning Gold And Silver
 by Chris Martenson

This report lays out an investment thesis for gold and one for silver.  Various factors lead me to conclude that gold is one investment that you can park for the next ten or twenty years, confident that it will perform well. My timing and logic for both entering and finally exiting gold (and silver) as investments are laid out in the full report.

The punch line is this: Gold and silver are not (yet) in bubble territory, and large gains remain, especially if monetary, fiscal, and fundamental supply-and-demand trends remain in play.

Introduction

In 2001, as the painful end of the long stock bull market finally seeped into my consciousness, I began to grow quite concerned about my traditional stock and bond holdings. Other than a house with 27 years left on a 30 year mortgage, these holdings represented 100% of my investing portfolio. So I dug into the economic data to see what I could discover. What I found shocked me. It's all in the Crash Course in both video and book form, so I won't go into that data here.

By 2002, I had investigated enough about our monetary, economic, and political systems that I decided that holding gold and silver would be a very good idea, poured 50% of my liquid net worth into precious metals, and sat back and watched.

Since then, my appreciation for and understanding of the role of gold as a monetary asset and silver as an indispensable industrial metal have deepened considerably.

Investing in gold and silver is still a good idea. Here's why.

Why own gold and silver?

The reasons to hold gold and silver, and I mean physical gold and silver, are pretty straightforward. So let’s begin with the primary reasons to own gold.

 

Image | Likely Outcomes of the Debt Ceiling Drama
Likely Outcomes of the Debt Ceiling Drama
 PREVIEW
by Chris Martenson

I’ve so far resisted really wading into the whole debt-ceiling charade because I am about as certain as can be that it will simply be lifted once again before any real damage is done to the US Treasury markets.

Sure, there will be a lot of posturing and huffing and puffing, and maybe even some last-minute tensions, but it will all be resolved as it always has been: with a hike in the debt ceiling that will last until after the next election.

But what if this is not true? What if this time an impasse occurs and the debt ceiling is not raised in time? Then what?
Likely Outcomes of the Debt Ceiling Drama
 PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

I’ve so far resisted really wading into the whole debt-ceiling charade because I am about as certain as can be that it will simply be lifted once again before any real damage is done to the US Treasury markets.

Sure, there will be a lot of posturing and huffing and puffing, and maybe even some last-minute tensions, but it will all be resolved as it always has been: with a hike in the debt ceiling that will last until after the next election.

But what if this is not true? What if this time an impasse occurs and the debt ceiling is not raised in time? Then what?
Image | Oil, Greece, and a Bounce in the Markets
Oil, Greece, and a Bounce in the Markets
 PREVIEW
by Chris Martenson

As expected, markets are beginning to act as if the world’s largest money-printing experiment, QE II (quantitative easing), is really going to end. My views here, first expressed in The Coming Rout (March 8) and reiterated since, is that commodities will get hit first and hardest, then stocks, and then bonds, beginning with weaker issues first before progressing towards the center.

This process is unfolding right in line with my expectations.  The next few months may well prove to be far more interesting than your average summer, although my preferred time for real difficulties remains early fall.

To begin our coverage, the stock market was off to a truly horrible start today, plunging by a couple of hundred points (Dow) before finding a base, and then being ‘rescued’ by a late day rumor that the Greece situation had been resolved.

Here’s the rumor:

Oil, Greece, and a Bounce in the Markets
 PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

As expected, markets are beginning to act as if the world’s largest money-printing experiment, QE II (quantitative easing), is really going to end. My views here, first expressed in The Coming Rout (March 8) and reiterated since, is that commodities will get hit first and hardest, then stocks, and then bonds, beginning with weaker issues first before progressing towards the center.

This process is unfolding right in line with my expectations.  The next few months may well prove to be far more interesting than your average summer, although my preferred time for real difficulties remains early fall.

To begin our coverage, the stock market was off to a truly horrible start today, plunging by a couple of hundred points (Dow) before finding a base, and then being ‘rescued’ by a late day rumor that the Greece situation had been resolved.

Here’s the rumor:

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